Qatar Grand Prix

Circuit information

Located 20 km north from Doha, the Losail circuit set a milestone in the 2004 season, hosting the first Motorcycling World Championship Grand Prix in the Middle East. The first stone was laid in December 2003 and the track was built in record time. It cost 58 million dollars and its infrastructures fulfil the highest quality and safety standards, meeting the homologation requirements of the FIM. The first rider to lap on the Qatar layout was Randy Mamola, who made an exhibition on a Ducati at the official inauguration of the circuit in July 2004.

The 5,380 metres long circuit is made up by a series of linked, high-speed corners. On its 1.068 km straight, the bikes reach speeds of 330 km/h. Its 16 corners 10 right-handers and 6 left-handers, make it very important to get a good set-up of the bike's front end. Although it was designed and built to become a fluid, technical and safe track, the Losail circuit is located in the middle of the desert, implying lots of sand. In order to fight-off the sand on the track, the designers built a perimeter of artificial grass to stop the sand from being blown onto the asphalt. The fact of being completely new asphalt, dirty, without any rubber on the surface and the inevitable sand, the lack of grip played one of the leading roles in the 2004 event, together with the high temperatures, around 40 degrees Celsius, and the high humidity level. Fortunately, since no single-seater races are staged in Losail, it doesn't have the typical bumps created by them; although it has large run-off areas, which were with no doubt designed looking forward to staging Formula 1 races in the future.

With its many twists and turns the Losail circuit demands a well-balanced bike that is capable of quick changes of direction.